


College Can Be Rough

by BewilderedSjipper



Series: Strithian stuffs [4]
Category: The Yogscast
Genre: M/M, Yes I'm returning to this I'm so sorry for being gone for so long, have some fluff, they are dorks and i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 11:45:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15194090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BewilderedSjipper/pseuds/BewilderedSjipper
Summary: Strife is just a smidge too short to reach a book he needs. Thankfully he's got his super tall and super cute boyfriend to grab it for him..





	College Can Be Rough

The library is nearly empty, the smell of dusty books soothing me as I make my way through the maze of shelves and tables scattered everywhere. Finding a small clearing of tables in the midst of bookshelves, I set my bag down on an adjacent chair and start pulling out my laptop and notes from class.

 

Sorting my workspace out, I get up and start my search for books about J. M. W. Turner, a painter from the Romanticism period. My professor for this class is very old-fashioned and allowed only one online source, much to the dismay to most everyone in the class. 

 

It takes a while to find the shelf with various kinds of books relating to artists. My hand trails along the spines of books, looking for the first three letters of my artists’ name. Finding nothing around eye level, I start looking higher up on the shelves. 

 

Finally, on the top shelf, I find a book titled  _ The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner  _ that sounds quite promising. Pressing myself up against the shelf, I stand on my tiptoes in an attempt to reach the book. The tips of my fingers just barely brush against the spine of the book.

 

I try standing on my tiptoes again, glancing around to make sure no one is watching me. When that doesn’t work, I try jumping and grabbing it. The plastic covering prevents me from gaining any purchase on it, my fingers slipping against it every time. There are stools scattered about the library since there are a lot of people who are unable to reach books on higher shelves, but every time I use them I feel like an idiot. I’m not super short, but I’m shorter than most guys. 

 

I take a few steps back, trying to figure out how to get the book I need without using a stool since there’s no way I’m going to be able to get it by tiptoe-ing. The first idea that comes to mind is to climb the shelf but is immediately scrapped. “I’m not using a fucking stool,” I mutter to myself. 

 

After a minute or two of trying to figure out what to do, I sigh. Looking around for people, I back away from the bookshelf. I start to run at the bookshelf, jumping when I get close and trying to snag the book.

 

Instead I end up hitting my knees on one of the lower shelves, my fingers catching a neighboring book and knocking it down instead. Stumbling back from the bookshelf, my knees aching, I hear the familiar laughter of my boyfriend. 

 

Turning to look at him, I’m surprised to see Rythian leaning against a bookshelf with his arms crossed over his rainbow mushroom shirt Zoey got him as a gift. “Hey Will.”

 

Heat floods my cheeks, the smile on his face telling me he’s seen my latest effort to grab this book. “What’re you doing here?”

 

He chuckles. “Not the response I expected to get. I decided to come visit my hard-working boyfriend.”

 

I look at the dated carpet beneath my feet, heat spreading to my ears. “How long have you been standing there?”

 

He walks closer, bending down and picking up the book I knocked to the floor. “Long enough. Is this the book you need?”

 

The book in his hand is beige, blue font reading _ A Life Of Picasso _ and a picture of the aforementioned artist on the front. “No, I needed the one next to it. The J. M. W. Turner one.” 

 

He replaces the Picasso book and grabs the one I need. “Are you alright? You hit that shelf pretty hard.”

 

I glare at him, his scarf hiding part of his face but the concern still evident. “My knee hurts, but I’ll be fine.”

 

“I’m sorry, I should’ve helped you.” He pulls me into a hug, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Forgive me?”   
  


I hum, burying my face in his scarf. “I’ll think about it.” 

 

“This place is a maze,” Rythian says as we head back to my table. “There were a couple people that told me which way you went, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have found you.”

 

I start sifting through my notes. “My roommate tell you where I was?” 

 

“It’s a friday night, where else would you be?” 

 

Looking up from my notes, I put a hand on my chest and scoff. “Rude! First you watch as I make a fool of myself and then make fun of my ability to not reach the top shelf, then you make fun of me for doing my work.”

 

“Why don’t I make it up to by taking you out? I’ll buy you dinner and we can rent a movie or something?” The scarf that covers the lower half of his face muffles his voice ever so slightly.

 

I look down at my book, trying to decide if I can put this off or not. “How about this,” I say after a minute of thinking. “Let me work for a little while, then we can go out.”

 

“Can’t you work on it tomorrow after I leave? I have to go in the morning because I work. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to spend time together. You’re either always working or studying and when you aren’t you’re too tired or can’t do anything because you have to get up really early the next day.” 

 

“I’m in college! I’m paying a lot of money for this education and I’m not going to waste it like half the people here who would rather party and get drunk. Once the semester’s over-”

 

“Once the semester’s over,” He interrupts, putting a hand up to stop me. “All you’re going to be doing is working.”

 

Resting a hand over my eyes, I take a deep breath. “Like I was  _ trying _ to say; once the semester’s over I’ll still be working but I’ll have more time off to spend with you. And I’ll be home so we don’t have to worry about driving.”

 

Rythian adjusts his scarf, staring at the bookshelves. “Yea, I guess.”

 

I reach out and squeeze his hand. “Half an hour, max. Then we can go get food. Okay?”

 

He nods, pulling out his phone. I get to work, starting to make my way through the book and taking notes as I go.

 

After a while Rythian takes his scarf off. "I doubt anyone will find us in this labyrinth," He says after catching my eye. 

 

I nod, going back to my work. It doesn't take long for me to realize Rythian is staring at me, his chin resting on his hand as he watches me fondly. "Can I help you?"

 

"You're so beautiful," He says dreamily. I feel my face start to heat up.

 

"Uh, th-thank you." It's not the first time he's said it, but it still makes my heart swell a little bit every time he does. My eyes dart down before I look back up at Rythian, a smile on my face.

 

"Can I kiss you?" Rythian asks quietly. 

 

I nod, leaning towards Rythian. Our lips meet in a very gentle kiss, Rythian reaching up and resting a hand on my cheek. 

 

Rythian pulls back and leans his forehead against mine, both of us smiling. The _click_  of a camera lense draws both of our attention, Rythian quickly reaching for his scarf.

 

A girl with short blonde hair and a camera in front of her face stands just around the corner of one the bookshelves. She lets the camera fall against her chest, a strap around her neck preventing it from falling to the floor. "Hey there! I didn't mean to be a creep, taking pictures of you and your friend here," She nods at Rythian. "I just needed to take some candids for class."

 

I glance over as well. Rythian's hastily put on his scarf, the tips of his ears bright red. "Oh, uh-"

 

"I can delete them, if you want. Or I could send them to you and then delete them," She offers. "They were really good pictures. You guys want to see them?"

 

She makes her way over, the scent of flowers almost overpowering as she stands next to me. Holding out the camera, she shows me the picture.

 

It's not the one of us kissing, like I had expected. Instead, it's a picture of Rythian looking dreamily at me, his hand covering most of the scars on his face. I am focused on scribbling something down in my notebook, my brows furrowed together. 

 

She hits a button and the picture of us kissing appears on the small screen. We both are on the edge of our seats as we lean over to each other, Rythian's scars visible in this picture now. Rythian's arm can be seen reaching up towards my face. 

 

"You wanna see 'em?" She turns to Rythian, moving so she's in between him and me. Creases appear in his forehead as his eyebrows scrunch together, his eyes going wide when she shows him the second picture. "I noticed your scars, but didn't want to say anything. They're really cool though, I'd love to take more pictures of you. Or I can edit them out or something if you're not comfortable with showing them to people. I'm Kat by the way," She holds out a hand.

 

Rythian hesitantly shakes her hand. "I'm Rythian, and I would appreciate if you didn't show anyone those pictures."

 

"Oh yeah, no problem. Would you like me to send them to you?" She turns to me and holds out her hand. "Nice to meet you..."

 

"Will Strife," I shake her hand, casting a dubious look Rythian's way. 

 

"Will Strife. What a nice name. You've got a registered email right? I'll email the pictures to you before I delete them," She takes a step back, waving the camera. "If you're ever looking for some quick cash, I'd love to take pictures of you sometime. You're very beautiful." She winks at Rythian. "Nice meeting you!"

 

With that she's off, slinging the camera back around her neck. When she disappears around a bookshelf I turn back to look at Rythian. "What the hell was that?" 

 

We stare at each other for another few seconds before bursting out laughing. 

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry for how long it's been since I've been on here. Life really has not been easy and I have not had any motivation but it's back now and I'm back now! Have some Strithian.


End file.
